Adjustable headband



June 13, 1950 M, N, ANDERs'oN 2,511,234

ADJUSTABLE HEADBAND Filed May 11, 1945 Patented June 13, 1950 UNITEDSTATES PATENT OFFICE 11 Claims.

This application relates to adjustable heada bands, more particularlytocontinuously adjusts able headbandsfor weldersi-helmets. and the like,and itis an object of the invention to provide. an improved headband ofthe character indicated,

Headbands for supporting welders. helmets and the like generallycomprise. a flexible. band which is. adapted tov surround. the head ofthe wearer andv to which thehelmetor other protecte ingshield is.attached. The flexible. bandis. made adjustable so. that the samehelmetmay be used by persons of different headisizes: and so-that theband may be worn tightly or loosely on. the. same personfs head.Commonly the adjustable feature is incorporated into. the band by over-llapping the ends thereof, placing a tubular CaSr. ing around theoverlapping ends and mounting an adjusting knob on the casing forshifting the ends of the band relative to each other to vary its size.The ends of the band are provided with slots; having gear racksassociated therewith which are brought into juxtaposition inside of thetubular casing, and a pinion gear also. in-.. sideoi the tubular casingis arranged to engage the gear racks, the pinion gear being attached tothe adjusting knob for shifting the band. ends. Spring detentmeans. areassociated; with the tubular casing and the adjusting knob. whereby theadjustingknob. is held in its. adjusted. position.

In, assembling suchadjustable bands the band ends. must be inserted intothe tubular casing and the slots and gear racks must be brought into.operative position. Along with this portion of the assembling procedurethe pinion gear must be placed in. engagement. with the gearracks, theadjusting knob must be-attached to the pinion gear and to the. assemblyas a whole by some means, such as a rivetextending from. the inside ofthe tubular casing. This; assembling procedure is difficult and timeconsuming. Accordingly, it i a r her ob e of. h invent onto pr Vide an ds abl headba d. of. the h racter indica ed h ch s. ec no ic l. o make.easyt as ble. a h s r a ve y ew p s;-v

It, is a further object of the invention to pro. d a a iust b e he d ano he chara sifndicated in which the operating means are carried solelyby the band-ends.

In carrying out the inventionin one form an adjustable headbandcomprising a, flexible band adapted to be worn around: a users head ispro-. video. e flexible b d has t end overlam p ns a other and h of he.e a ein ends includesa toothed rack. Constrainingmeans ineludingdepending flanges are provided for the overlapping band ends along withoperating means for adjusting thelength of the adjustable band; theoperating means including gear means associated with the. racks.Resilient means are arranged between the operating. means and the bandends to. bear against one. of the-band ends and. the operating means forrestraining movement of the operating means. The depending flanges onthe constraining member are adapted to contact the resilient means toprevent movement of the resilient means during adjustment of the band.

Fora more complete understanding of the invention, reference should. nowbe had to the accompanying" drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is a rear perspective view of a welders helmet band embodying theinvention;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken substantially along thelines 2..-2 ofFig. 1;

Fig. 3. is a sectional view taken substantially along the lines 3.-3: ofFig. 2;

Fig. 4 is an exploded perspective view showing the relative positions ofvarious elementsv of the adjustable band;

Fig. 5 is a front elevational view of amodified form of a welders helmetband embodying the invention; and

Fig. 6 is a sectional view taken substantially along lines 66 of Fig. 5;

Referring more particularly to the drawing in which the same referencecharacters are used. to denote corresponding parts in the differentfigures, the invention is embodied in a headband l0 mounted inside of awelders helmet or the like I l. The welders helmet is shown in brokenlines and: includes a windowv for protecting the users eyes while stillpermitting suincient illuminae tion to be transmitted for the user toproperly envision his work. The headband l0' comprises a flexible bandI2; which is relatively circular in formto fit around the users head andincludes a cushioning pad 13, acrossband l4, and means f a s n he iz oth h nd i Th cr ss: band i4 is attached to the flexible-band 2 ;a.t eachside thereof; by well known means, such: asrivets 0! examp e. and ex ndsup ardly from; h flexible band I2= to form a member which crosses overthe head of the user tokeep the headband from sliding downwardly too farover the users head. Adiacent the pointswhere the crossband Hi isattached to the flexible band 12, ears. l5 a e at c edto the cr s nd l4ndarespaced therefrom at; one end as shown. Holes are for-medin thespaced away portions of the ears l through which holes bolts |6 arereceived for attaching the helmet II or other protecting shield to theheadband Ill.

The flexible band [2 is a strap of suitable material which, for example,may be metal, fiber, or the like, and is bent into a relatively circularform having the overlapping ends l1 and |8. The overlapping ends I I andH! are provided with slots l9 and 20, respectively, the lower edge ofthe slot l9 being provided with a, toothed rack 2| and the upper edge ofthe slot 20 being provided with a toothed rack 22. In the assembledposition of the headband the overlapping ends I! and |8 lie fiat againsteach other thereby bringing the slots into registry and consequentlybringing the toothed racks into position facing each other. A gear 23 isreceived in the slots I9 and 20 and engages the racks 2| and 22 so thatupon rotation of said gear the Overlapping ends I1 and I8 will beshifted back and forth relative to each other for adjusting the size ofthe band. The width of the slots l9 and 20 is substantially the same asthe diameter of the gear 23 so that the edges of the slots opposite thegear racks are virtually in contact with the gear 23 thereby preventingrelative edgewise movement of the ends l1 and I8. The ends I! and I8 areheld flat against each other by a washer 34 bearing against the rearside of the end l8 and by the spring 3'! bearing against the front sideof the end H and the adjusting knob 33, the assembly being held togetherby the bolt 35 and the nut 36 as shown.

Associated with the band l2 to keep the band ends l1 and I8 as well asthe head of the bolt 35 and the washer 34 out of contact with the usershead is the constraining member or guide 24. The constraining member 24is curved to fit the users head, is sufliciently flexible to permit itsbending a small amount when the headband is adjusted in size but also issufliciently rigid to maintain the generally curved shape of the band,and includes a backing or supporting portion 25 from which extend thelateral edges 26 and the depending flanges 21 and 28. The backing member25 is somewhat wider than the band l2 so that the band ends I1 and 8 fitloosely between the lateral edges 26, and the lateral edges 26 are widerthan the thickness of the combined ends I! and I8 and the washer 34 sothat the band ends fit loosely between the backing member 25 and thedepending flanges 21 and 28. In the assembled position with the backingmember 25 adjacent the rear face of the band end l8, the dependingflanges 21 and 28 extend over or embrace a portion of the edges of theband end I! thereby forming guide for the band ends in their movementrelative to each other. Any tendency on the part of the band ends tobecome askew by pivoting about the gear 23 is prevented by the lateraledges 26. At the center of the constraining member 24 the flanges 21 and28 are removed leaving the edges 29, 30, 3| and 32 (Figs. 1 and 5) for apurpose to be described.

The band ends I! and I8 are shifted relative to each other by turningthe adjusting knob 33 which is connected to the pinion gear 23 as shownmost clearly in Figs. 2 and 4 and are held in an adjusted position bypreventing rotation of the adjusting knob 33 as will be made clear. Theadjusting knob 33 has a front portion on which the embossments 38 areformed so that a suitable grip thereon may be obtained, and formed atthe rear surface of the adjusting knob is a shoulder or boss 49 in whichis formed a series of 4 radially extending notches or recesses 39 whichdefine a series of protuberances 39a. The notches are arranged to form acomplete circle and receive the protuberances or detents on the spring31 for holding the adjusting knob in any position. The tops of theprotuberances 39a are spaced inwardly of the outer extent of theshoulder or boss 49 forming thereby a flange 50. Also extending from therear of the adjusting knob is the shoulder from which extends the piniongear 23 and extending through the pinion gear and the adjusting knobproper is a hole through which the bolt 35 isreceived, the rear portionof the hole being conical in form to receive a similar conical portionin the washer 34 for a purpose to be described. While the gear 23 isshown as being an integral portion of the adjusting knob 33 it will beclear that the gear may be separately formed and attached to theadjusting knob.

The spring member 31 is interposed between the band end l1 and theadjusting knob 33 for providing some support for the adjusting knob aswell as for restraining rotation thereof. It includes two end members 40and 4| and a body portion 43. The end members 40 and 4| are eachprovided with lugs 42 at the ends thereof and are curved outwardly sothat the ends adjacent the lugs 42 are the only points of contact of theend members with the band (Figs. 2 and 6) thereby reducing the area offrictional contact to a minimum. The end members 40 and 4| are ofsufiicient length between the lugs 42 to loosely fit into theinterrupted ortion of the flanges 21 and 28, and the width of the spring31 between the end members 40 and 4| is such that the members 40 and 4|are received between the interrupted flanges with the lugs 42 lyingadjacent the edges 29, 30, 3| and 32. Between the end members 40 and 4|of the spring 31 is the body portion 43 which has reduced portions atits junction with the end members and has an enlarged portion extendingfrom the junctions, the maximum dimension of the enlarged portion beingsomewhat smaller than the inside diameter of the flange 50. The enlargedportion is curved outwardly from its junction with the end members, andmidway between the end members at the position of maximum outwardcurvature the protuberances or detents 44 and 45 are formed at pointsdiametrically opposite each other. The protuberances 44 and 45 areadapted to lie in the notches 39 between the radial projections 39a inthe adjusting knob 33 and thereby engage the radial projections 39a toresist or restrain movement of the adjusting knob for retaining theadjustment of the band I2. The curved end portions 40 and 4| areresilient and the curved body 43 is resilient. The curved body 43 joinsthe curved ends at their point of maximum curvature and hence the twocurvatures combine to eflect a greater resilience in the spring 31 forurging the detents into holding position. The spring member 31 isprovided with a central opening 46 somewhat larger in diameter than thediameter of the shoulder 48 through which the gear member 23 is adaptedto pass and the detents 44 and 45 are spaced relatively far apart so asto provide support for the adjusting knob.

The described elements are assembled for op eration substantially asfollows: Assuming that the flexible band |2 is bent into a substantiallycircular form with the crossband l4 attached thereto, the end member I8is inserted into the constraining member 24 from one end with the bolt35 having the washer 34 assembled thereto extending through the slot '20of the band end 18 and between the flanges-Hand '28. The end H is nowinserted into the constraining member 24 from the-opposite end so thatit lies outwardly of the end is and is brought out from the constrainingmember between the edges 29 and and 31 and 32 of the interrupted portionof the flanges 21 and 28 to extend a sufficient distance so that thebolt will pass underneath the end to extend through theslot l9. Afterthis the end i! is pushed back to lie between the edges 29 and 30 and 3|and 32 and the end I! is then pushed further through the constrainingmember -24 until itoccupies the position shown in Fig. 1. The parts arenow arranged so that the bolt 35 lies approximately centrally betweenthe edges 29, 3B, 31 and 32 and the end edges of the band ends I"! and[3 are approximately equally spaced from the bolt 35. The spring 37 isthen placed so that the spring ends 49 and 4| are received between theinterrupted portions of the flanges 21 and 28 with the bolt 35 extendingthrough the opening :36 in the spring. The adjusting knob 33 with theoperating gear 23 is assembled to the structure by pushing the adjustingknob 33 onto the extending bolt 35 whereupon the gear 23 passes throughthe superimposed slots l9 and 25, the teeth of the gear 23 engage thegear racks 2| and 2 2, the detents 44 and are received in the spaces 3?!between the protuberances 3911, the shoulder d3 of the adjusting knob isreceived in the opening 45 and the edge of the body member 43 adjacentthe pr'otuberances is received within the flange 59. To complete theassembly lock washer 4! is placed over the bolt 35 and the nut 35 isscrewed thereto. The head of the bolt 35 is conical in iorm so as to bereceived in nesting relationship in the conical portion of the washer 34and the conical portion of the washer is received in the conical portionof the hole through the gear '23. The head of the bolt is also curved inform as shown so that in the assembled position the head of the boltprotrudes outwardly from the rear surface of the washer. The workmanassembling 'the band by pressing against the rear surface 25 of theconstraining member 24 presses against the head of the bolt and producessufficient friction to keep the bolt from turning so that the nut 36 canbe joined to the bolt in a satisfactory manner without having the boltslip. The band ends I! and I8 are loosely received in the constrainingmember 24 and the operating structure including the gear 23, theadjusting knob 33, the spring 31, the washer 34 and the bolt and nut 35and 35 are supported by the band ends.

In order to adjust the band l2 to any desired size the adjusting knob 39is turned thereby turning the gear 23 which through engagement with theracks 21 and 22 moves the band ends outwardl-y or inwardly. Any effortto turn the knob 33 tends .to rotate the spring 6-! since the detentmembers 44 and '45 are engaged by the protuberances 39a. Rotatingmovement of thespring 3] beyond "the slight "initial rotation as well astranslational movement is prevented since the lugs 42 engage the edges3!! and 31 or 29 and '32, depending on the direction of rotation of theknob 33 whereupon rotating the adjusting knob forces the detents 44 and45 out of the spaces 39 between the protuberances 39a, Preventingtranslation of the spring 31 causes the adjusting knob 33 to remain inits centered position between the edges 28, 35, .31 and 32 sincetranslational movement of the adjusting knob brings 6 the shoulder 48into contact with the edge of the hole '46. The resiliency 'of thespring 31 keeps the detents 44 and 45 in the recesses 39 at all times sothat the adjusting knob is held in its adjusted position until force'isexerted thereon to turn it.

In Figs. 5 and 6 in which the same reference characters are used as inFigs. 1-4 for corresponding elements, a modified form of the inventionis shown in which one of the band ends is stationary and the adjustingis produced by moving the other band end. Two band ends 51 and '52 of aJiiexible band corresponding to the flexible band i-Z are brought intooverlapping relationship with each other inside of the constrainingmer'nber M. The band end 52 is similar to the band end 1-! in that itincludes a slot 53 having gear rack 54 arranged at one edge of the slot;The bandend 5| differs from the band end [B in having a series of threecircular holes 55 which are of a slightly larger diameter than the gear23. In other particulars the embodiment shown in Figs. 5 and 6 issimilar to those of the embodiment of Figs. 1-4. The second embodimentis assembled in substantially the same manner as the first embodiment sothat the gear 23 is received in one of the circular holes '55 in theband end 5! and thereby fixing it in a stationary position. Fixing theband end 5! as described produces the general head size desired. That isif a large head size is desired the gear 23 is fitted into the holeadjacent the end of the band and if -a small head size is desired thegear 23 is placed in the hole farthest from the end. After the desiredhead size has been seiected the headband is adjusted by rotating theadjusting knob 33 whereby the band end 52 is moved while the band end 5!remains stationary.

By providing aseries of spaced holes 55 in the headband-anotheradvantage isattained, namely, that of allowing the band to be shifted inthe event of wearing out of the teeth of rack 55 engaged with pinion-orgear 23, :so as to present another portion of the rack for engagementwith the said gear. The life of the helmet is thus increased.

While particular embodiments of the invention have been shown it will beunderstood, of course, that the-invention is not limited thereto sincemany modifications may be made, and it is, therefore, contemplated bythe appended claims to cover any such modifications as come within thetrue spirit and scope of the invention.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed and desired to besecured by Letters Patent is:

1. An adjustable headband comprising a flexible band adapted to be wornaround a users head having a pair of overlapping ends, each of saidoverlapping ends including a toothed rack, guide means for saidoverlappingends, operating means including gear means associated withsaid toothed racks for adjusting the length of said band, and resilientmeans for restraining movement of said operating means, abutting meansintegral with said guide means for engagement by said resilient means toprevent rotation of said resilient means, said resilient means and saidoperating means being carried by said overlapping ends independently ofsaid guide means.

2. An adjustable headband comprising a flexible band adapted to be wornaround a users head having a pair of overlapping ends, each of saidoverlapping ends including a toothed rack, constraining means includingdepending flanges for said overlapping ends, operating means includinggear means associated with said racks for adjusting the length of saidband, and resilient means bearing against one of said bands and saidoperating means for restraining movement of said operating means, saiddepending flanges being adapted to contact said resilient means toprevent movement of said resilient means during adjustment of said band.

3. An adjustable headband comprising a flexible band adapted to be wornaround a users head having a pair of overlapping ends, each of saidoverlapping ends including a toothed rack, constraining means for saidband ends having a backing member adapted to lie adjacent the band endson the inside thereof and flanges depending from said backing member andoverlying said band ends on the outside thereof, operating meansincluding gear means for adjusting the length of said band, andresilient means bearing against one of said bands having projectionsengaging said operating means for restraining movement thereof, saidresilient means having edges adapted to bear against said dependingflanges for preventing rotation of said resilient means duringadjustment of said band.

4. An adjustable headband comprising a flexible band adapted to be wornaround a users head having a pair of overlapping ends, each of saidoverlapping ends including a toothed rack, constraining means for saidband ends having a backing member adapted to lie adjacent the band endson the inside thereof and flanges depending from said backing member andadapted to overlie said band ends on the outside thereof, said dependingflanges including interrupted portions, operating means including gearmeans for adjusting the length of said band, and resilient means havingprotuberances engaging said operating means, said resilient meansincluding a plurality of bearing members received between saidinterrupted flanges and bearing against one of said band ends.

5. An adjustable headband comprising a flexible band adapted to be wornaround a users head having a pair of overlapping ends, at least one ofsaid overlapping ends including a toothed rack, constraining meansincluding depending flanges for said overlapping ends, operating meansincluding gear means associated with said rack for adjusting the lengthof said band, and resilient means bearing against one of said bands andsaid operating means for restraining movement of said operating means,said depending flanges being adapted to contact said resilient means toprevent movement of said resilient means during adjustment of said band.

6. An adjustable headband comprising a flexible band adapted to be Wornaround a users head having ends overlapping each other whereby one ofsaid ends lies outwardly of the other, at least one of said overlappingends including a toothed rack, guide means for said overlapping ends,operating means including gear means associated with said toothed rackfor adjusting the length of said band, said guide means having exposededges adjacent said operating means, and resilient means bearing againstsaid outwardly lying one of said overlapping ends and said operatingmeans for restraining movement of said operating means, said exposededges being adapted to contact said resilient means to preventrotational movement of said resilient means during adjustment of. saidband.

7. An adjustable headband comprising a flexible band adapted to be wornaround a users head having a pair of ends overlapping each other, one ofsaid ends including a toothed rack and the other of said ends includingan opening, guide means for said overlapping ends, gear means extendingthrough said opening and engaging said toothed rack, operating means forsaid gear means, said guide means having exposed edges adjacent saidoperating means, and resilient means bearing against one of said bandsand said operating means for restraining movement of said operatingmeans, said exposed edges being adapted to contact said resilient meansto prevent rotational movement of said resilient means during adjustmentof said band.

8. An adjustable headband comprising a flexible band adapted to be wornaround a users head having a pair of overlapping ends, one of said endsincluding a toothed rack and the other of said ends including anopening, constraining means for said band ends having a backing memberadapted to lie adjacent the band ends on the inside thereof and flangesdepending from said backing member, and adapted to overlie said bandends on the outside thereof, said depending flanges includinginterrupted portions, operating means including gear means extendingthrough said opening and engaging said rack for adjusting the length ofsaid band, and resilient means having protuberances engaging saidoperating means, said resilient means including a plurality of bearingmembers received between said interrupted flanges and bearing againstone of said band ends.

9. An adjustable headband comprising a flexible band adapted to be wornaround a users head having a pair of overlapping ends, one of said endsincluding a toothed rack and the other of said ends including a seriesof openings, constraining means for said band ends having a backingmember adapted to lie adjacent the band ends on the inside thereof andflanges depending from said backing member and adapted to overlie saidband ends on the outside thereof, said depending flanges includinginterrupted portions, operating means including gear means extendingthrough one of said series of said openings and engaging said rack foradjusting the length of said band, and resilient means havingprotuberances engaging said operating means, said resilient meansincluding a plurality of bearing members received between saidinterrupted flanges and bearing against one of said band ends.

10. An adjustable band forming a closed loop comprising a flexible bandhaving a pair of overlapping ends, at least one of said overlapping endsincluding a toothed rack, guide means for said overlapping ends,operating means including gear means associated with said toothed rackfor adjusting the length of said band, and resilient means forrestraining movement of said operating means, abutting means integralwith said guide means for engagement by said resilient means to preventrotation of said resilient means, said resilient means and saidoperating means being carried by said overlapping ends independently ofsaid guide means.

'11. An adjustable band forming a closed loop comprising a flexible bandhaving a pair of overlapping ends, each of said overlapping endsincluding a toothed rack, guide means for said overlapping ends, anoperating knob for adjusting the length of said band, gear means extend-10 ing from the rear Of said knob and movable there- REFERENCES CITEDwith, said gear means extending past said overlapping ends andhaving thegear means in m The foliowing references are of record in the gagementwith said toothed racks, means atfile of thls patent: tached to saidknob engaging the inside surfaee 5 UNITED STATES PATENTS of the insideone of said overlapping ends, and Number Name Date spring means havingone part engaging said 2 205 741 Bowers June 25 1940 kmb and havingamther Pm engaging and 212051742 Bowers III: June 25: 1940 erting aconstant force against the outer surface of the outer one of said bands,said attached 10 means and said spring means providing lateral supportof said knob.

MARSHALL N. ANDERSON.

